Week 32: Day 7 - August 14, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.51 miles; time = 56:53; pace @ 12:37
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles
• walk to Panera Bread (for knitting friends) = 3.2 miles round trip

Running: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 8.26

Total Monthly Mileage: 18.41

Total Yearly Mileage: 536.8

Total Shoe Mileage: 303.43

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 20.73

Total Monthly Mileage: 91.04

Total Yearly Mileage: 1161.92

I think the massage that I got on Friday really helped my heel/foot soreness. My foot wasn't actually worked on, but my calf was. My calf was the main problem for my foot/heel soreness because my calf muscle was super tight even though I thought that it was mostly ok. My foot/heel didn't feel sore or hurt at all during the run this morning. I'm still getting a dull soreness, but it's tolerable. The only time that it feels really sore is when I'm sitting for a long time. Weird, but I can now start my 10k and half marathon training, feeling more confident.

Right when I left my house to start my run with my dog this morning (I had just barely stepped out of the door), I saw a coyote quickly pass by. I had my stun gun in hand and out of curiosity, I used it just for the popping sound. The coyote was really spooked by the sound and sprinted off. It was kinda hilarious and I was also relieved at the same time...not that I didn't believe it wouldn't work.

Week 32: Day 5 - August 12, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 3.75 miles; time = 49:28; pace @ 13:11
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I went for a run this morning. I had wrapped up my right heel so I could run. That helped as my heel didn't feel sore during or after the run, but I don't think I can do this for every run, especially for the next four months when my half marathon race is over! Anyway, I didn't feel very motivated to run and felt out of shape, like I hadn't ran in a long time (my last run was last weekend). I also had a full body massage by a local massage place. They didn't do much on the bottoms of my feet, which made me a little sad and disappointed, but they did work on my legs. My "bad" heel/foot felt really sore after the massage, but it feels totally fine now. I hope that my heel/foot problem was more of a problem that came from my calf. It felt a little sore from trying to walk on my heel when my heel felt really sore like I was walking with my heel up.

I finally fixed up the flat on my bike and got a spare tube just in case for my front tire (knock on wood, I hadn't had a flat tire in the front yet). I also purchased "tuffy", which is a tire lining suggested by my boss, to prevent future flats. At the rate that I'm going (one flat each month or every other month), I had to get it because I'm tired of getting flats. I hope it can prevent a flat from a nail. If it doesn't, my boss won't hear the end of it.

Week 32: Day 1 - August 08, 2016

• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles
• group bike ride = 20.73 miles; time = 1:35:34; pace @ 13 mph

So much for doing any cycling for the rest of the week. I went on a ride with a meetup group. After a few miles into the ride, I crashed into another ride. It wasn't that bad as we both got away with minor injuries. She got mostly bruises, I think, while I have a scraped elbow, a scraped area on the back of my knee and some bruises. She landed in the grass while I landed in the street which was why she only got away with bruising only and I have a few scraps. It could have been worse like getting broken bones from the same crash or getting hit by a car. And then just my luck, I got three flat tires. On the last flat, one of the other riders just picked me up in his car...the ride is normally 23 miles. My bike still has a flat tire. Since my bike group was the one who changed the flat, I think it was put on wrong. I can fix it by taking it apart and putting it back on correctly, but I don't have a spare and I've already learned my lesson not to ride without a spare. I have already gotten so many flats from just this year alone that I can't risk getting a flat somewhere, especially between work and my car/home and being completely stranded because I can't go anywhere. So I won't be riding for a few days until I get a new inner tube as a spare. My legs are also pretty banged up so I probably shouldn't be riding anyway. The good thing is that my legs still work because I need my legs to do a 10k in October and a half marathon in December and training starts at the end of August!

Week 31: Day 7 - August 07, 2016

• trail/road RUN (solo) = 6 miles; time = 1:16:19; pace @ 12:43
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles
• bike ride (local) = 15.21 miles; time = 1:18:41; pace @ 11.6 mph

Running: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 10.15

Total Monthly Mileage: 10.15

Total Yearly Mileage: 528.54

Total Shoe Mileage: 295.17

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 70.31

Total Monthly Mileage: 70.31

Total Yearly Mileage: 1141.19

I've decided to sign up for a pet charity 10k run and a holiday half marathon. The 10K run is for The Race For The Rescues which will be held in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, October 15. I did this run last year with my dog, Jubee. We (Jubee and I) will be doing it again this year. I also created a charity page to collect donations that will go towards helping animals from local pet rescue shelters. The funds will save them from euthanasia, providing the community with important programs like shelter intervention, free and low cost spay/neuter and assistance with vet bills to low income families. Please consider making a donation towards my race. Any amount, big or small, is greatly appreciated.

http://www.racefortherescues.org/participant/jubee

I will be doing a holiday half marathon in Pomona, CA on December 11. This will also be the day before my birthday. This will be the first race that is ten miles from home! That means that I get one extra hour of sleep! All of my other half marathons are located 30 or more miles away! Anyway, this event will have a few charities for runners/walkers to choose from, however, the selection is very limited and poor right now. There are only two current charities listed as of now to which I don't exactly want to raise funds for. I'm sure there will be more charities that will be listed soon, but I don't like to raise money for a charity when there is less than three months before an event. I like to have lots of time, regardless of my goal amount, to collect donations. I start training for my half at the end of August with my 10K run as part of training. Most likely, I will not create a charity page while I'm training for my half. However, if anyone is feeling generous and wants to make a donation on my behalf, please visit my pet charity page.

http://www.runholidayhalf.com

I signed up for a 10k run and a half marathon because I am getting bored of running. I need a goal to work towards, so I can keep running. However, I'm not sure what happened, but my right heel is sore and sensitive right now. This problem started during my run this morning. I had this problem during some of my runs before, but it didn't feel too bad and it went away after my runs were over. My heel is still sore many hours later after I finished my run from this morning. As much as I don't want to, this calls for rest (no running) in the next few days. It's a good thing I can afford to rest now and miss a few running days. I am still going to ride my bike so that I don't feel completely lazy and useless.

Week 31: Day 4 - August 04, 2016

• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles
• bike commute to work = 15.89 miles; time = 1:18:42; pace @ 12.1 mph

I didn't do a work out (except walk my dogs) yesterday because I thought that I would do a BIG work out today by commuting to work, starting from my house...and not from the mall which meant a 39 mile commute round trip. I tried to get in some extra sleep yesterday morning before going to work because I didn't do a run in the morning and I had an extra hour of sleep (by not going to work on a bike from the mall). I had a hard time getting some extra sleep yesterday morning. I felt tired like I needed more sleep this morning. I probably would have felt okay or better if I did the whole commute starting from home, but I parked my car at the mall and went to work from there instead. I felt better once I got to work. I felt a little better during the ride, but not that great and I was slower than usual.

I try keep track of all of my bike rides - distance, time (how long it takes me from start to end) and average pace. The only time that I didn't was on a few rides from this year because the battery died on my pedometer/speedometer and I didn't get a new battery for awhile like a month or so. When I do keep track of the distance, time and average speed, I log them to LogYourRun (it's like MapMyRun) so I can compare and keep track of my progress. During a group ride recently, someone told me that I was carrying too much extra weight (I had a 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water jug because I am a camel who drinks lots of water and can put it away) and it was unnecessary because it was hold me back and the reason why I was as slow as I was (she was a faster rider than I was). So I checked my account on logyourrun to compare my rides. All of my rides are consistently the same with the same average speed/pace, whether I am carrying extra weight or nothing at all. When I'm going to work on a bike, I have my 1/2 gallon of water on my back in a small backpack, and a bag with my work clothes, cleaning stuff, and a small camera bag. THAT bag is FIVE (5) POUNDS! Even with all of that extra weight while I'm going to work, my pace/speed is actually the same or slightly better than my rides where I carried less or no extra weight. I don't like people telling me that I'm doing something wrong when I'm really doing just fine.

Week 31: Day 2 - August 02, 2016

• trail RUN (solo) = 4.15 miles; time = 52:12; pace @ 12:35
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles
• bike commute to work = 15.89 miles total; time = 1:15:34; pace @ 12.6 mph

This morning, I did a run in an area where I didn't want to bring my dog to because a coyote followed us three different occasions. During the run, I remembered that I had (still have) a stun gun and I recently got a new battery for it. I need to start bringing it with me for my own self-defense against another person. I also know that the popping sounds scare dogs and I don't have to be near them. I think and I hope that the popping sounds will also work on coyotes.

Week 31: Day 1 - Aug. 01, 2016

• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles
• group bike ride = 23.32 miles; time = 1:48:57; pace @ 12.8 mph

I was going to go to work on a bike starting at the mall, but I felt tired after my morning ride with a meetup group. I don't know why. Maybe I would have felt better if I just went to work on a bike. Maybe I needed to eat and I would have felt better. Maybe I really do need to catch up on sleep.